Meeting minutes example and template to copy
Four ready-to-copy minutes templates by meeting type (team, project, leadership, works council), with the method to adapt them and the mistakes to avoid.
- 1A single skeleton (header, decisions, actions, open items) covers the vast majority of meetings.
- 2The right template depends on the meeting type: a team weekly does not have the same needs as a leadership committee.
- 3Statutory minutes (such as a works council) are a separate case, legally framed, with strict deadlines.
- 4A template reused from one time to the next makes your minutes faster and more readable.
You want minutes templates to copy, not a lecture. Here are four, by meeting type, plus how to adapt them to yours. If you want the writing method first, it is detailed in our guide on how to write meeting minutes.
The universal template
This is the baseline. It works for nine meetings out of ten. Keep it in your notes and duplicate it before every meeting.
Minutes, meeting [subject]
Date: [dd/mm/yyyy] | Duration: [xx min]
Present: [names] | Absent: [names]
Decisions
- [Decision]
Actions
- [Action]: [owner], by [date]
Open items
- [Point to revisit]
Next meeting: [date]The team meeting template (weekly)
A weekly moves fast and repeats. You mainly want to know where each person stands and what is blocking.
Team check-in, week [no.]
Date: [dd/mm] | Present: [names]
Progress this week
- [Who]: [what moved forward]
Blockers
- [Blocker]: [help needed, from whom]
Actions for the week
- [Action]: [owner], by [date]The project meeting template
Here, the minutes serve as the project’s memory. You keep the structuring decisions and the risks.
Project committee [name], meeting [no.]
Date: [dd/mm/yyyy] | Present: [names]
Structuring decisions
- [Decision and its reason]
Risks and alerts
- [Risk]: [impact], [mitigation action]
Actions
- [Action]: [owner], by [date]
Upcoming milestones
- [Milestone]: [target date]The leadership committee template
A committee decides. The minutes must be readable in two minutes by someone who was not there.
Leadership committee
Date: [dd/mm/yyyy] | Present: [names]
Decisions
- [Decision], [execution owner]
Postponed topics
- [Topic]: [next decision deadline]
Actions
- [Action]: [owner], by [date]The special case of statutory minutes
Some bodies do not write free-form minutes: the format is set by law, with deadlines. The French works council (comité social et économique, or CSE) is a clear example. According to article R2315-25 of the French Labour Code, failing an agreement, the minutes are written by the council’s secretary and sent to the employer within fifteen days of the meeting, or before the next meeting if it takes place sooner. They must contain at least a summary of the deliberations and the employer’s reasoned decision on the proposals from the previous meeting. Shorter deadlines apply in certain cases, such as economic redundancy.
In other words, for bodies like this you do not improvise: the format is constrained and the secretary is legally responsible for it.
How to adapt a template to your meeting
A template is a starting point, not a straitjacket. Three adjustments are enough:
- Remove what you do not use. No risks to flag? Delete the section. Short minutes get read.
- Keep the order: decisions then actions. That is what your readers look for first.
- Lock your version. Once the template fits your meetings, stop reinventing it. Consistency saves time and makes your minutes recognizable.
Paste your blank template into the meeting invite. You arrive with the outline already open, and you leave with minutes almost finished.
The mistakes that make minutes useless
- The verbatim. Transcribing the discussion drowns the decisions. You synthesize.
- The action with no owner or date. It will not happen. Each action answers “who, by when”.
- Late sending. After two or three days, the context fades and the value with it.
For meetings run in English, the skeleton stays the same, only the vocabulary changes: see our meeting minutes template in English.
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About Claire Dubois
For ten years I've coached French executives and salespeople who have to perform in English. Their level is almost never the real problem: it's the live mental load. I write concrete methods, ready-to-use phrasings and ways to keep your cool when an objection lands in English.
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